For over half a century, the Muslim minority population in Myanmar, the Rohingya, has fled the severe repression and persecution they face in their homeland to seek refuge in Bangladesh and other neighbouring countries. Sadly, few find the assistance they desperately require and instead are forced to survive in huge ‘makeshift camps’ with little or no basic amenities such as food or water. Now, increasing violence and intimidation is forcing the Rohingya to flee once again. Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) reports on the appalling living conditions and maltreatment refugees are enduring at the hands of local authorities in Kutupalong makeshift camp, Cox’s Bazaar, Bangladesh.
Rohingyan families live in appalling conditions in camps in Bangladesh. March 2007
Photo by Eddy Van Wessel
Approximately 25,000 un-registered Rohingya refugees have sought a safe place to live on the outskirts of the state endorsed United Nations Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) supported refugee camp. Unlike their approximate 10,000 registered counterparts, the un-registered refugees in Kutupalong struggle to survive day to day, living in squalid conditions, vulnerable to ill health and exploitation. “It’s some of the worst poverty I’ve ever seen. People are living in makeshift shelters built out of bits of plastic and wood or whatever they can find. They don’t even have basic things to cook with. And the sanitation is appalling”, explains Gemma Davies, MSF Project Co-ordinator in Kutupalong makeshift camp.
In the last weeks, the situation has spiraled out of control, reports the MSF team who have recently set up an emergency health intervention in the camp. “This highly vulnerable population is facing imminent expulsion by the local authorities who are using unacceptable methods to uproot them from their homes,” continues Gemma, “We hear people were dragged out of their shelters if they refused to move… There was one four-year-old girl who arrived at our clinic with knife injuries and another five-day-old baby that had been thrown onto the ground. It is totally unacceptable”.
“They come to us for solutions which we can’t offer them,” said Gemma. The team of MSF medics and Bangladeshi staff feel totally helpless in a situation that is swiftly becoming out of control. “One day, we had more than 50 people turn up to our clinic, saying that they had nowhere to go, they didn’t know what to do, they’d been moved three times in the last week... And we can’t do anything to change their situation. They’re tired. People are threatening suicide now,” said Gemma.
Desperation and a feeling of resignation are mounting among the refugees. “If I’m told to move again, they can kill us, they can run us over, they can poison us, but I’m not going to move again,” said one woman living in Kutupalang camp. “If I go to get wood I’ll get arrested, if I collect water I’ll get beaten, if we move our houses we’ve got nowhere to go.”
Amid the unrest, MSF continues to offer medical care to those in need of assistance, both camp residents and the host community alike. “We don’t have the solution for these people, it’s frustrating, but what we can do is provide whatever medical support we can, be there with them and bear witness to what’s happening”, concludes Gemma.